FIV cat and humans

[dizzyhytes]

I adopted an FIV cat from a shelter after a lot of thought and research. It is my first cat, but after reading up, I felt pretty comfortable about what I was taking on.

Today the cat inadvertently scratched me and drew blood. I know everything says that the virus isn't transmissable to humans, or certainly the virus has no effect on humans, but I can't stop worrying. I think I may have been very naive in thinking I was ready to cope with this, and did not properly consider this.

Is it 100% certain that I won't get anything by living with this cat, and getting bitten or scratched from time to time? Is there scientific proof about it?

Appreciate your advice. Thanks.

 

[katiemae1277]

First off, you are doing a wonderful thing by giving an FIV cat a home! They can live long happy and healthy lives. Please rest assured, your kitty cannot transmit the virus to you, it is not a "zoo-notic" disease which means not transferable between species. I adopt feline leukemia kitties and a few of mine have FIV also and yes, they have scratched me inadvertently, but I have no worries!

here is a very good site on FIV
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html

 

[momofmany]

I want to add that if there was ever a chance that this cat was vaccinated for FIV, they will show positive for it if tested later. Take care of the cat's health as if FIV positive as a precaution, but realize that he/she may not have it. You don't always know for absolute certainty with shelter cats.

We'd love to know more about him/her and love pictures!

 

[lawguy]

As for the FIV, you'll be fine. If you're immuno-compromised yourself you might catch Bartonella from the scratch. If that's the case, and you happen to have any Cipro, Zithromax, or Vibramycin laying around, you can start taking it to minimize the minor symptoms and kill the bacteria.

If you're not immuno-compromised, then don't worry about it.

Either way, you have very little to nothing to worry about.

and don't worry about feeling silly asking your question - I double checked recently on this site if I could get ear mites. My post was WAY more silly.

 

[lawguy]

oh... by the way. I'm not a doctor, and despite the fact that I'd really love to - I don't even play one on TV. So nothing I say is medical advice, legal advice, plumbing or electrical advice, planned pregnancy advice, or any other kind of advice that I'm not qualified to give.

 

[mrblanche]

To a large extent, you are as likely to catch Dutch Elm Disease as FIV. In fact, although there ARE a few things you can catch from a cat (toxoplasmosis, Bartonella, etc.), mostly we just don't share much in the way of susceptibility or metabolism. That's one reason why drug testing on cats is pretty useless.

If you have a kitten, you WILL get scratched and bitten occasionally. Both can get infected, so take care of those.

 

[farleyv]

I had a FIV pos cat. Stupidly, I got in the middle of a fight trying to break it up. Got a bad bite right through my jeans and blood was rolling down my leg. I was scared just like you were. But there is no chance that you will get it. It just dosen't happen between cat and human. That was 7 years ago. I am just fine. Even the cat he was fighting with did not contract it. You should be commended for taking this animal in. Cheers to you!!

 

[zookeeper67]

Well said. I have an feral(super sweet cat), outdoor cat, that is living in my bathroom while he recuperates from a fight. Now he doesn't want to go back outside,  i will figure something out for him to live indoors. But I do have to keep him from my other cats. He is such a sweetheart and he doesn't seem to mind the bathroom. He just want attention.

 

[ldg]

zookeeper67 Why do you have to keep him from your other cats? The disease is only transmissable via deep-tissue bite wounds. It is not passed casually. I have an FIV+ cat living inside with 8 other cats. And we live in 310 sq ft in an RV. It IS important that slow, proper introductions be made. But.... it's safe for him to mingle with the others.

FIV- Billy FIV+ Chumley cover Laurie.jpg

• ldg
• Jul 28, 2014

Billy is negative, Chum is positive. Chum and Bill are best buds, and Chumley grooms Billy all day long. Cleans his ears. They've lived together for the four years since we rescued Chumley. We just had Billy retested to make sure. And yep, he's still negative.

Here is more information - in fact, a recent long-term study of shelter cats not separated:

http://www.wivotersforcompanionanim...-can-live-harmoniously-with-fiv-negative-cats

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023314000847

(I think I purchased the file and sent it to the FIV-healthscience Yahoo group. It may be available in their files. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/fiv-healthscience/info )

Dr. Litster's presentation at Maddie's Fund - lots of links and info: http://www.maddiesfund.org/Maddies_Institute/Webcasts/Update_on_FIV.html

And an absolute MUST read: http://www.v63.net/catsanctuary/vet_question.html